Brother and Sister
by ShardsandAshes
Summary: Before they were Death Eaters, they were brother and sister. Here are five glimpses into the lives of Alecto and Amycus Carrow, two innocent children failed by the adults in their lives, one little sister who still believes in fairy tales and one big brother determined to protect his little sister. *Sensitive Topics/Triggers*Please Read ANs.*
1. Late Night

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: This story is a submission for the "Choose a Family" Challenge. Each chapter will be inspired by a prompt. The prompt for this chapter was "Late Night."**

** This story is not really canon because canon gives very little information about the Carrow family except that they are purebloods and Death Eaters. Their past is essentially a mystery. This story is my head canon for Alecto and Amycus Carrow and is meant as an exploration into what kind of childhood and family situation could have created the people Alecto and Amycus became. This story is meant as a companion to my work-in-progress story, "Reckoning." It will follow Alecto and Amycus in drabbles from their childhood to the moment of their Death Eater initiation. I've established Amycus as two years older than his sister. I'm making Amycus Lucius Malfoy's year mate at Hogwarts, and Alecto will be too (which I will explain in a later chapter). **

** This story is rated mature for ****major triggers**** including non-graphic but heavily implied sexual and physical abuse of children including father/son and uncle/nephew incest. There will be no brother/sister incest. Alecto and Amycus's relationship will be extremely close but completely platonic. Alecto and Amycus will speak and interact at a level that will seem unusual for their age, but they are two children being forced by horrifying circumstances to grow up very fast. Even at this point, Amycus is practically raising Alecto, and the steps he will take as the story continues all return to him trying to protect his sister. His nickname for Alecto is "Princess." There will also be implied sexual and physical abuse of adults.**

** This is not a pleasant story. But it does help provide an explanation for the complicated and unusual relationship that is established between the Carrows and Minerva McGonagall during the year that Severus Snape was headmaster in my story "Reckoning." **

It was late that night before five-year-old Amycus made it back to the children's wing of the manor, and he hoped that his little sister, three-year-old Alecto, would be fast asleep.

Unfortunately, she was wide awake with her brother's too big dressing gown wrapped around her night dress as she sat in her bed, the covers bunched at her feet. She flung them off when she saw Amycus slip in the door.

"Alecto, Princess, you should have been asleep hours ago. I told you not to wait up for me." His smile took all the sting out of his admonishment, but Alecto was quick to notice the pain behind it.

"Did Father hurt you bad tonight?"

Alecto's tiny feet were already on the floor as she ran to him, and he had no time to shift his clothes to hide his bruises…or the bleeding.

Amycus swallowed hard. "Father had been drinking, Princess. You know how much worse he is when he drinks." He picked her up and set her back on her bed. "But don't you worry. Let me get cleaned up, and I'll be as good as new. I took some healing potions from Father's bathroom after he collapsed."

Amycus stepped away, but Alecto ran after him. "No! Don't leave me alone."

He sighed, giving in immediately. He could deny her nothing. "Okay, come with me. But I've got to clean up all over so you've got to promise not to look." Amycus kept hoping that, if she never saw the extent of what their father did to him, the same thing would never happen to her.

He was forever grasping at straws trying to protect her. He was too little, and he knew it. But he had to try. There was no one else who could.

As he gratefully ran a warm bath for himself, she sat with her back to him, swinging her legs off the edge of the chair. She still wore his dressing gown, and her red hair fell in a tousled braid down her back. She hadn't brushed the braid out yet. The brush was difficult for her to handle, so Amycus always did it for her right before they slept.

"Did Father hurt Mother again too?" Her voice shattered the stillness, mingling with the soft splashing of the water.

Amycus swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Yes, he did. He hurt her before he hurt me. She tried to protect me from him."

Alecto sighed, a far too mature sound for such a little girl. "Will she wake up this time?"

Her brother did not respond. Amycus rose from the bath, drying himself gently, before downing the potions he'd taken. They'd heal the damage well enough. They always did. He'd been using them for more than a year. Hastily, he slipped into his night clothes.

Once Alecto realized that he was dressed, she leapt down from the chair and ran to him. Automatically, he picked her up, letting out a relieved breath as her skinny arms wrapped around his neck. Alecto was safe. And he was still alive to protect her.

It wasn't until he had set her on her bed again and began to brush her hair that he answered her.

"I don't know if she will wake up this time, Alecto. He hurt her really bad."

Most little girls would have cried at his words. But Alecto never cried. He was proud of his sister. She was strong, just like him.

"Amycus, what will happen to us if Mother doesn't wake up? Then we will be alone with Father."

She was trembling. He put the brush down and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. She put her head on his shoulder. Slowly, the trembling stopped.

"I don't know, Princess. But I know this much. I will protect you no matter what. You will never be alone. I will be here to take care of you." He rocked her a little, in a way that their Mother had never managed to do for them.

She clung to him. "Do you promise, Amycus? Will you always protect me and take care of me? Always?"

He nodded. "Forever," he promised. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I'm your big brother. That's what big brothers are for. Even though Mother can't, I can."

She smiled, her blue eyes gazing up at him raptly in perfect trust.

"Even if we have to go to Azkaban? Even if we get sent through the Veil?"

Amycus cuddled her more closely, rocking them both. "Even then. No matter what. I will never leave you."

They curled up together, taking what comfort they could from each other, a brother and a sister, two children alone in the dark.


	2. Tower

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: This story is a submission for the "Choose a Family" Challenge. Each chapter will be inspired by a prompt. The prompt for this chapter was "Tower."**

** This story is not really canon because canon gives very little information about the Carrow family except that they are purebloods and Death Eaters. Their past is essentially a mystery. This story is my head canon for Alecto and Amycus Carrow and is meant as an exploration into what kind of childhood and family situation could have created the people Alecto and Amycus became. This story is meant as a companion to my work-in-progress story, "Reckoning." It will follow Alecto and Amycus in drabbles from their childhood to the moment of their Death Eater initiation. I've established Amycus as two years older than his sister. I'm making Amycus Lucius Malfoy's year mate at Hogwarts, and Alecto will be too (which I will explain in the next chapter). **

** This story is rated mature for ****major triggers**** including non-graphic but heavily implied sexual and physical abuse of children including father/son and uncle/nephew incest. There will be no brother/sister incest. Alecto and Amycus's relationship will be extremely close but completely platonic. Alecto and Amycus will speak and interact at a level that will seem unusual for their age, but they are two children being forced by horrifying circumstances to grow up very fast. Even at this point, Amycus is practically raising Alecto, and the steps he will take as the story continues all return to him trying to protect his sister. His nickname for Alecto is "Princess." There will also be implied sexual and physical abuse of adults as well as minor character death.**

** This is not a pleasant story. But it does help provide an explanation for the complicated and unusual relationship that is established between the Carrows and Minerva McGonagall during the year that Severus Snape was headmaster in my story "Reckoning." **

Their mother never woke up. Now, there was no one to stand between the children and their father. Amycus became even more protective of Alecto, doing his best to make sure that she stayed out of their father's sight. They took all their meals in the nursery tower and spent all their time there. Amycus was eight years old, and Alecto was six. It was past time for them to have a private tutor, as was the way with wealthy pureblood families, but such considerations never crossed the mind of their father.

He drank more than ever now, and he vented his lusts on his son whenever the alcohol allowed him to perform. Amycus had learned to shut himself off, observing everything with a drifting detachment that permitted him to continue functioning. Alecto had become the center of his life, and keeping her safe and happy was his only goal. The more that his father's attention was on him, the less it would be on Alecto.

It was a precarious balance, and it shattered one night as Amycus was cleaning up from yet another round with his father. He had thought that Alecto was already asleep when he came in, and he had gone about bathing and dressing as quietly as he could.

His heart nearly stopped when he heard two familiar voices just outside the half-open bathroom door.

"Father, no! Please don't!"

"What a sweet little girl you are. You certainly are growing into a pretty thing, aren't you? Come give your father a kiss."

Alecto screamed.

Amycus flung the door wide, immediately spotting Alecto pinned beneath their father who was climbing atop her on the bed. Alecto's night dress was torn, and their father's hands were beneath it, clawing at her even as she tried desperately to get away. The drunken man was still naked from his time with Amycus earlier, and his wand lay discarded on the floor.

"Amycus, help me!"

Their father was too heavy and too strong for her to throw off. Even drunk, he still moved quickly. In another moment, he would rape Alecto.

That wasn't going to happen if Amycus had anything to say about it!

The boy felt his fury, his rage, and his grief build like a fire out of control. This man had raped and abused him his entire life. He had beaten his mother to death and had made Amycus completely responsible for raising Alecto. Now, he was trying to destroy the last person Amycus had left. He would destroy Amycus as well because he could not bear to know that he had allowed his sister to be hurt.

"No more!" Amycus hissed as he snatched up his father's wand. It felt unpleasant in his hand, but he knew it would obey him, recognizing him as the heir of his father. Carefully, fearful of harming his sister in the process, he lined up the wand with his father's bare back. The drunken man was oblivious, too absorbed in his own perversion to notice his son.

Amycus had read about the spell. He knew it was an Unforgivable. But he also knew that the manor wards would prevent the magic from being detected.

He knew it was dark magic. He didn't care as long as it saved his sister.

Alecto screamed again.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_ Amycus shouted and a stream of sickly green light leapt from the wand to impact his father's back.

The man arched once, tumbling off Alecto and falling to the floor. Then, he lay still.

Amycus ran to his sister, pulling her into his arms. She did cry then, but he didn't hold it against her. After all, he was crying too.

"Is he gone forever?" she whispered.

He swallowed hard. "Yes, I think so."

They clung to each other as the moments passed.

Finally, Alecto said, "You killed him…and you saved me."

He nodded, not trusting the lump in his throat to allow him to speak.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He kissed her forehead, trying to find the bravery that seemed to have deserted him in a rush.

"It's like I told you before, Princess. I'll always protect you. That's what big brothers do."

Beside their father's lifeless body, they fell into an uneasy sleep.


	3. Night

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: This story is a submission for the "Choose a Family" Challenge. Each chapter will be inspired by a prompt. The prompt for this chapter was "Night."**

** This story is not really canon because canon gives very little information about the Carrow family except that they are purebloods and Death Eaters. Their past is essentially a mystery. This story is my head canon for Alecto and Amycus Carrow and is meant as an exploration into what kind of childhood and family situation could have created the people Alecto and Amycus became. This story is meant as a companion to my work-in-progress story, "Reckoning." It will follow Alecto and Amycus in drabbles from their childhood to the moment of their Death Eater initiation. I've established Amycus as two years older than his sister. I'm making Amycus Lucius Malfoy's year mate at Hogwarts, and Alecto will be too (which I will explain in this chapter). **

** This story is rated mature for ****major triggers**** including non-graphic but heavily implied sexual and physical abuse of children including father/son and uncle/nephew incest. There will be no brother/sister incest. Alecto and Amycus's relationship will be extremely close but completely platonic. Alecto and Amycus will speak and interact at a level that will seem unusual for their age, but they are two children being forced by horrifying circumstances to grow up very fast. Amycus is practically raising Alecto, and the steps he will take as the story continues all return to him trying to protect his sister. His nickname for Alecto is "Princess." There will also be implied sexual and physical abuse of adults as well as minor character death.**

** This is not a pleasant story. But it does help provide an explanation for the complicated and unusual relationship that is established between the Carrows and Minerva McGonagall during the year that Severus Snape was headmaster in my story "Reckoning." **

Amycus was not that surprised to find that he had disposed of one monster just to find himself under the thumb of another monster. He and Alecto had done a fine job of fooling the aurors who had come to investigate when their father had missed an important meeting with the Minister of Magic. Amycus had moved the body to his father's room, and none of the aurors were adept enough to realize that the man had not been killed in his bedroom. Of course, it had clearly been an unknown assailant because no child could be capable of such magic. The children, thankfully, had been in the nursery when it happened. The emotion that they had expressed upon hearing the sad news was appropriate for gently bred pureblood children.

Now, their uncle had come to take over their guardianship. He looked eerily similar to their father, and the way he looked at Amycus was far too familiar. It was a copy of their father's expression when he was anticipating "special time" with his son.

Once the formalities were completed and Alecto had been sent off to the nursery, he cornered Amycus.

"My brother said you were a nice little bed-warmer. Now, you're all mine. Shall I sample your sister's charms too?"

The man was shocked to find himself with a wand in his face.

"Because you are older and stronger and able to do what I cannot, we will come to a deal, a bargain if you will, you and I," Amycus said lowly, the point of his father's wand just under his uncle's chin.

The man smirked. "You are a mere child. Why should I make a bargain with you rather than taking what I want?"

Amycus's answering smirk had no humor in it. "My father beat my mother to death. How do you really think my father died?"

His uncle swallowed audibly. "You should not have been able to do that."

Amycus smiled. "But I did. Now, here is the bargain if you do not wish to meet the same fate that he did. You will provide for the needs of my sister and me as befits the children of a wealthy, pureblood family. You will see to it that we have abundant possessions, amusements, and discretionary funds. You will pay for our Hogwarts's education through our graduation. And you will not ever lay a hand upon my sister or say an unkind or insulting word to her. Except for providing for her, you will have as little to do with her as possible. In money, possessions, and education, she will be your responsibility. But in her upbringing, she will be mine."

The man snorted, "Anything else?"

Amycus kept the wand trained on his uncle. "You will use your abundant gold to see to it that my sister's age is altered on her birth certificate so that we will start at Hogwarts together. You will also place an aging glamor on her so that her appearance will not reveal her true age. I have not left her alone since the day of her birth, and I am not about to leave her behind here with you, promises or not."

His uncle's eyes narrowed. "And what do I get in this bargain?"

Amycus sighed. "You get sole use of me whenever I am at home and not tending to Alecto's needs or my educational matters." He grimaced over what he felt he had to say next, knowing that the expression had worked like honey on his father. "I will see to it that I keep myself pure for you."

His uncle smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. Amycus managed not to shiver.

"I find that to be an acceptable arrangement," his uncle said, and his voice nearly dripped with anticipation.

Amycus steadied himself and said, "Let us do a wand oath to finalize it. That way, neither of us can break our agreement."

His uncle drew his wand, and Amycus drew his father's wand. Though the piece of wood had been reluctant to obey him at first, it did so now without complaint. Amycus wondered if that meant his magic was becoming more like his father's magic.

It was a possibility that he did not wish to contemplate.

After the oath was made, they made arrangements for a shopping trip the next day. But before he allowed his nephew to leave, Amycus's uncle grabbed his arm.

"Once you have tended to your sister, you will come to my bed. Do you understand?"

Amycus swallowed dryly. "I understand."

Alecto was waiting anxiously for him in the room that they still shared. She wore her night dress and dressing gown, but her hair was still in its braid. Automatically, he locked and warded the door before reaching for the brush and sitting down behind his sister on her bed.

For a few moments, there was no sound but the swish of the brush as he gently worked it through her soft red hair. Her hair was red like their mother's hair had been, but he had been cursed with his father's looks instead.

Alecto had never minded.

"You're going to him tonight, aren't you?" Alecto's voice shattered the silence.

His hands stilled. "Yes, I am. Don't worry about me, Princess. I'll be fine. I'm bigger now, and my magic is getting stronger. I can handle him better." He paused, trying to distract her. She'd always been far too perceptive. "Alecto, he agreed to everything."

She twisted around to look at him. "Everything? I'll get to go to Hogwarts with you?"

He smiled a genuine smile that only she ever saw. "Yes. We'll be year mates. Won't that be wonderful?"

The distraction worked. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.

"I knew my prince would save me! You always save me just like you always promise you will."

Amycus grinned, stroking her hair as he held her. "Princess, I always keep my promises. I'll never leave you alone, not ever."

He rocked her to sleep and tucked her in. Only when he was sure she was asleep did he kiss her forehead and, taking a deep breath, slip out of the room. As the door closed, darkness swallowed him.

It was night.


	4. Hogwarts

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: This story is a submission for the "Choose a Family" Challenge. Each chapter will be inspired by a prompt. The prompt for this chapter was "Hogwarts."**

** This story is not really canon because canon gives very little information about the Carrow family except that they are purebloods and Death Eaters. Their past is essentially a mystery. This story is my head canon for Alecto and Amycus Carrow and is meant as an exploration into what twisted kind of childhood and family situation could have created the people Alecto and Amycus became. This story is meant as a companion to my work-in-progress story, "Reckoning." It will follow Alecto and Amycus in drabbles from their childhood to the moment of their Death Eater initiation. I've established Amycus as two years older than his sister. I'm making Amycus Lucius Malfoy's year mate at Hogwarts, and Alecto will be too. **

** This story is rated mature for ****major triggers**** including non-graphic but heavily implied sexual and physical abuse of children including father/son and uncle/nephew incest. There will be no brother/sister incest. Alecto and Amycus's relationship will be extremely close but completely platonic. Alecto and Amycus will speak and interact at a level that will seem unusual for their age, but they are two children being forced by horrifying circumstances to grow up very fast. Amycus is practically raising Alecto, and the steps he will take as the story continues all return to him trying to protect his sister. His nickname for Alecto is "Princess." There will also be implied sexual and physical abuse of adults as well as minor character death.**

** This is not a pleasant story. But it does help provide an explanation for the complicated and unusual relationship that is established between the Carrows and Minerva McGonagall during the year that Severus Snape was headmaster in my story "Reckoning."**

** Two notes for this chapter, I have used italics to denote "thought" conversation between the Sorting Hat and Amycus Carrow. Amycus is eleven years old, and Alecto is nine years old. Her birth certificate was altered by her uncle and an aging glamor placed on her so that she could attend Hogwarts with Amycus. **

"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat shouted, and Amycus watched his sister rise and walk with dignified pureblood grace to her new house table, granting Narcissa Malfoy a small smile as the blond witch made room for her. Amycus was pleased when Narcissa glanced up and met his eyes, nodding slightly. She was known as the most maternal of the Black sisters, and she had wasted no time making sure that he and Alecto rode in her boat across the lake. Amycus had stayed at his sister's side as they walked to the castle, but Narcissa had walked on the other side. Now, she squeezed Alecto's hand where no one could see it but Amycus as they waited nervously for Amycus's Sorting.

"Carrow, Amycus!" With all the pureblood training that he was master of, Amycus stood and strode to the center of the Great Hall, taking his place on the stool as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto his head.

_"Ah yes, Alecto's brother…I must say that you are the most protective sibling I have ever encountered. Your sister adores you. She seems to worship the ground you walk on. I can't say I blame her, considering what the two of you have been through and especially considering how young she is."_

Amycus responded to that particular revelation with a very nasty epithet that he had learned from his uncle.

_"You will keep that information to yourself, or you will be ashes by midnight!"_ he thought, and even the Hat seemed to recoil from his vehemence.

_"Easy, young man,"_ it said soothingly. "_It's not my place to interfere, and your upbringing is no one's concern but your own. Rest assured that your secrets are safe with me."_

Alecto breathed a quiet sigh of relief. _"Now that we have established that, I hope I do not need to order you as to where to Sort me."_

Oddly, the Sorting Hat seemed to sigh as it responded. _"Oh, I am well aware of that. It is a shame though. You have the loyalty of a Hufflepuff, the thirst for knowledge of a Ravenclaw, and the bravery of a Gryffindor. As it happens, so does your sister. There is so much potential in the two of you. Whatever else you take from Hogwarts, I hope you'll take that with you."_

Amycus was stunned. _"How much can you see, Hat? Are you a seer?"_

_ "If I was, would you listen?"_ the Hat responded.

Amycus shrugged mentally. _"Perhaps I would. Now what do you have to say?"_

For a moment, the Hat was silent. Then it spoke quietly and gently.

_"You and your sister have lost much, young one. And you have done a brilliant job of making up for what life has denied to the two of you. But fear not, Amycus Carrow. There will be another chance for you to have what you deserved but never got. Only be patient and remember the lioness with the heart of a snake. In the fullness of time, you will know who she is. When her badger has returned to her side, you and your sister will finally have the love that you've craved for so long."_

Amycus mulled the words. _"I cannot interpret your prophecy, but I will see to it that I do not forget. Thank you, Hat. But as it happens, I have a very nervous sister waiting for me."_

The Hat chuckled fondly. _"We will meet again, Amycus Carrow! You can be certain of that. In the meantime, I will do my job."_

"Slytherin!" the Hat shouted, and Amycus strode quickly to his sister's side, squeezing the hand that Narcissa wasn't holding.

"I was so worried," Alecto whispered as the Sorting continued. "It took so long, and I thought maybe you wouldn't end up with me."

He bent his head down close to his sister. "Princess, you know better than that! I made sure the Hat sent me here. I promised you I would never leave you, and I always keep my promises."

Alecto smiled. "I know, Amycus. You're my prince, and you always protect me."

"And I always will," he assured her. "That's what brothers do."

That night, as it sat on its shelf, the Sorting Hat grieved the lost innocence of two young snakes and hoped that Hogwarts would make certain that the prophecy came true.

Only time would tell.


	5. Thunder

**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: This story is a submission for the "Choose a Family" Challenge. Each chapter will be inspired by a prompt. The prompt for this chapter was "Thunder."**

** This story is not really canon because canon gives very little information about the Carrow family except that they are purebloods and Death Eaters. Their past is essentially a mystery. This story is my head canon for Alecto and Amycus Carrow and is meant as an exploration into what twisted kind of childhood and family situation could have created the people Alecto and Amycus became. This story is meant as a companion to my work-in-progress story, "Reckoning." This chapter is the final chapter of this story. Here we see Alecto and Amycus Carrow fully grown at their Death Eater initiation. I have used italics for spell-casting. **

** This story is rated mature for ****major triggers**** including non-graphic but heavily implied sexual and physical abuse of children including father/son and uncle/nephew incest. There will be no brother/sister incest. Alecto and Amycus's relationship will be extremely close but completely platonic. There will also be implied sexual and physical abuse of adults as well as minor character death.**

** This is not a pleasant story. But it does help provide an explanation for the complicated and unusual relationship that is established between the Carrows and Minerva McGonagall during the year that Severus Snape was headmaster in my story "Reckoning." **

There was no moon the night that they were Marked. The procession that made its way to the torchlit garden of Malfoy Manor was solemn. Amycus walked beside his sister, her hand clutching his beneath the concealing drape of the long sleeves of their robes. He made certain that his own hand did not tremble. It was not as if he wasn't nervous. Their sponsor, Lucius Malfoy, had warned them that the Marking would be excruciatingly painful. But Amycus figured that it couldn't be any worse than what his father and his uncle had done to him.

Their uncle was finally dead by the wands of his niece and nephew. When Lucius had presented them to the Dark Lord, Voldemort had, as a matter of course, looked into their minds. He had emerged from the process oddly subdued, and he had immediately assigned the two of them the torture and death of their uncle as their initiation task. He had actually overseen it himself, and he had not interfered when Amycus insisted on casting every curse in tandem with Alecto. Amycus had been unwilling to allow his sister to carry the full burden of their vengeance. In the end, their uncle had been deservedly tortured to death, Alecto had killed for the first time, and the Dark Lord had realized that the Carrows would be an asset to the Death Eaters so long as they were kept together.

The procession came to an end as the attendees spread out, forming a circle around the Carrows, Lucius Malfoy, and the Dark Lord. Their Lord beckoned them forward, and Lucius stepped forward to play his part in the ritual.

"My Lord, I present to you Alecto and Amycus Carrow to receive the Dark Mark and be received into the Death Eaters."

Lucius guided them forward, and Amycus noted the quick gleam of sympathy sparking in the cold grey eyes. His face was otherwise obscured. Only Alecto and Amycus were bare-faced since they would receive their masks after their Marks.

Lord Voldemort gestured Alecto forward, but Amycus held up a beseeching hand.

"Please, my Lord, may I have the honor first? I am the eldest and the heir." What he did not dare say was that he was worried Alecto would be frightened if she had to go first. However, he did dare a glance up to meet his Lord's eyes and had no doubt that his worry had come across quite clearly.

Amycus let out a breath as the Dark Lord inclined his head in agreement, and Amycus hastened to his knees. Slender fingers reached out and caught his arm, baring it to the touch of his Lord's wand. Then came the word that would define the world for him and his sister for years to come.

_"Morsmordre!"_

It burned. It burned, and it burned. But it was no worse than his father's and his uncle's rapes, and it was no worse than the constant excruciating worry for his sister. This pain was nothing compared to that.

Others had screamed. Others had even cried at their Marking.

Amycus was silent, and his eyes were dry.

Lucius helped him to his feet, fastening his mask over his face as Amycus kept hold of Alecto's free hand. If the Dark Lord noticed, he did not object. And when Alecto was Marked, she too was silent and did not cry.

He grinned at her from behind his mask as Lucius gave him her mask and let him put it on her. Their faces were now obscured from each other, but he knew she could read his eyes as easily as he could read hers.

Their Lord's hands rested briefly on their shoulders. "Obey me, and I shall see to it that you are never separated as long as you live. Defy me, and you shall never see each other again."

Amycus swallowed hard, squeezing his sister's hand hard. She squeezed back.

"Thank you, my Lord. We shall not fail you."

Amycus slipped his arm around his sister's waist so that she could lean her head against his shoulder. Above their heads, lightning flashed, and thunder rolled over them. Alecto moved closer to her brother, shivering beneath the heavy robe for reasons that had nothing to do with the temperature. Thunder on a moonless night was never a good omen.

"Don't worry, Princess. I'm your prince, remember? I'll protect you no matter what it takes. I'll be by your side forever."

"Always, Amycus?" She had never stopped asking him that question.

Behind his mask, he smiled. "Always, Alecto. Forever and ever."

The thunder rolled again.


End file.
